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Sustainability

– Exploring what is now possible

Robert Perey and Louise MetcalfPAX Leader Labs, and ARIES at Macquarie University

August 2012

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Robert PereyBA (Ancient History), MA (Complexity, Chaos & Creativity)Member of the Australian Institute of Management Member of the Academy of Management

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Louise MetcalfBA (Hons in Psych), Masters of Applied Psychology Organisational, MBA, PhD PSY0001289578, Member & Supervisor College of Organisational Psychologists, Member of AHRI, Member of the Academy of Management

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Who is ARIES?• ARIES is a research, consultancy and education centre at

Macquarie University that supports change for sustainable development within government, business and the community.

• Sustainability encompasses the economy, the environment and our social responsibility.

• Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

• http://aries.mq.edu.au/

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Main Points

• What is sustainability anyway?

• What are current questions of sustainability in Government in Sydney?

• What’s happening in research and practice in Sydney?

• Where to now?

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Current Questions in Sustainability

• What is sustainability anyway?

• Sustainability – multiple perspectives and understandings

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• “Human life and all human activities depend on nature” – Wackernagelet al 1999

Ecological Economics 29 375

Ecological Maxim

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Ecological Footprint

– Accounting tool allows companies, governments and individuals to calculate their resource and waste assimilation needs in terms of a corresponding area of productive land (Rees and Wackernagel)

– Globally there is an average of 1.8 productive hectares/person. Your footprint is around 7.6 productive hectares/person. Future-eating?

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GlobalAverage

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Per Capita Ecological Footprintfor Selected Countries

Earth’sCapacity

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1.8

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Ecological Footprints

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Future Scenarios

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A concept of sustainability

Eco-Efficiency& Environ.Economics

Social Sustainability

Economics

Triple Bottom Line (TBL)

SocialEnvironmentalEconomic

PeoplePlanetProfit

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The Most Urgent Sustainability Challenges

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Corporate and government leaders are seen as lagging NGO and social enterprise leaders in advancing the sustainability agenda

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Environmental Discourses

GLOBAL LIMITS AND THEIR DENIALLooming Tragedy: SurvivalismGrowth Forever: The Promethean Response

SOLVING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMSLeave it to the Experts: Administrative RationalismLeave it to the People: Democratic PragmatismLeave it to the Market: Economic Rationalism

THE QUEST FOR SUSTAINABILITYEnvironmentally Benign Growth: Sustainable DevelopmentIndustrial Society and Beyond: Ecological Modernisation

GREEN RADICALISMChanging People: Green Consciousness

Changing Society: Green Politics

John DryzekPolitics of the Earth2005

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So what is corporate sustainability?

The capacity of an organisation to

• support the ecological viability of the planet and its species through the implementation of proactive environmental management practices.

• to contribute to continuous human renewal by constructing work which is simultaneously productive, challenging and enriching.

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Business Case for Sustainability: Demand

• Society demand for social and environmental responsibility for the impact of organisations and business CSR

• Governments set environmental, occupational health and safety standards –need for compliance; reduction carbon emissions, reduce waste

• Worldwide initiatives to redefine the corporation’s role in society to emphasize corporate citizenship e.g.

Business for Social Responsibility (USA)The Charter for Good Corporate Behaviour (Japan)Global Reporting Initiative (Netherlands)The Centre for Tomorrow’s Company (UK)The World Business Council for Sustainable Development

licence to operate.

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Our Linear Society

TakeTake MakeMake WasteWasteUseUse

>90% is invisible

Molecular Waste

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Change to Cradle to Cradle“borrow - use – return”

NatureExtraction

Waste

Economic activity

Recirculate toxic substances and technical materials in closed loop industrial cyclesRecirculate biological

materials back into nature without harm

Design processes productsand services and infrastructure to be easily recirculated

Bob Doppelt

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Business Case: Cost Saving

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Degrowth – Everything old is new again• Sustainable degrowth is a downscaling of production and consumption that

increases human well-being and enhances ecological conditions and equity on the planet - challenges the centrality of GDP as an overarching policy objective

• A future where societies live within their ecological means, with open, localized economies and resources more equally distributed through new forms of democratic institutions. Such societies will no longer have to “grow or die.”

• Material accumulation will no longer hold a prime position in the population’s cultural imaginary - primacy of sufficiency not efficiency; innovation will concentrate on new social and technical arrangements that will enable us to live convivially and frugally.

• Degrowth proposes a shrinking of the economic system to leave more space for human cooperation and ecosystems.

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Cutting Edge of Research and Actions

• Proposition: the assumptions of society need to shift from supporting economic values to supporting ecological values.

• The current structures in society seem to suffer inertia or are unable to move beyond simple changes such as eco-efficiency (current business as usual logic)

• This raises interesting questions for societies institutions (Commerce, Government, Education).

• How is such a change effected?

• What skills do leaders need to acquire and demonstrate?

• Not all individuals, organisations, structures will benefit from such a change – how will this be facilitated and managed?

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What’s happening in research and practice in Sydney?• ARIES (Australian Research Institute for

Environment and Sustainability) – Macquarie University

• ISF (Institute for Sustainable Futures) - UTS

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ARIES Projects• For the Business and Industry Sector

– Accounting for Energy Efficiency: A roadmap for transition (in progress): Sustainability in Key Professions: Accounting (2010)

– ARIES Case Study: Learning and Change for Sustainability at Yarra Valley Water (2010)

– Sustainability in Supply Chains (2009)

– Education about and for Sustainability in Australian Business Schools – Stage 3: Partnering business schools with corporations (2009)

– Developing Resources to Assist Responsible Business Practice (2009)

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ARIES Projects• For the Education Sector

– Sustainability teaching tools for higher education (2010)

– Action learning for sustainability - Faculty of Business and Economics (2010)

– Indigenous concepts of Country and sustainability (2010)

– Indigenous concepts of sustainability (2010)– Energy efficiency and renewable energy teaching module (2010)

– Strategies to assist academics from a range of faculties to incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy into their teaching activities (2010)

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ARIES Projects• For the Community Sector

– Animal Welfare (Exhibited Animals: General Standards & Guidelines) Professional Development Course (in progress)

– Wildlife Guardians - Species conservation assistance (in progress)

– Water-Saving Messages to Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities (2009)

– Education for Sustainability Brochure (2009)

– Reef Water Quality Protection Plan: Scoping of issues associated with industry practices (2007)

– Sustainability in Noosa: A living change case study (2007)

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ARIES Projects• For the Government Sector

– Advancing Sustainability Leaders Program (in progress)– Mentoring Local Government in Education for Sustainability (2007)

– Promoting Organisational Change for Sustainability within the Public Sector (2007)

– Development of a National Approach to Monitoring, Assessment and Reporting on the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development - Stage 1: Identification of national indicators (2006)

– A National Review of Environmental Education and its Contribution to Sustainability in Australia (2005):

• Volume 1: Frameworks for Sustainability

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Climate Future Research

• Marine and Coastal Impacts and Adaptation• Terrestrial Biodiversity Freshwater Impacts and Adaptation• Institutions, Policy and Planning• Economic, Environmental Risks and Hazards• Communication and Education

• Climate in the Future• The Future of Car Culture• More than Mud• Shifting Down-Under

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Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF)• Cities and buildings• Corporate sustainability• Energy and climate change• International development• Local government• Natural resources and ecosystems• Resource futures• Social dimensions of sustainability• Transport• Water and sanitation

– http://www.isf.uts.edu.au/

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Selection of ISF Projects

• Sustainability rating tool - Australian Green Infrastructure Council (AGIC)

• Green Chrysalis: SME enterprises: Innovation and transformation towards Australia’s low-carbon economy – Australian Business Foundation

• Decentralise energy costs and opportunities for Victoria – Sustainability Victoria

• Incorporating active living principles into residential developments: a case study of Glenmore ridge – Premier’s Council for Active Living (PCAL)

• Bike rider and bus driver interaction – City of Sydney

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Examples of Sustainability Research

• A Sensemaking Approach to Trade-Offs and Synergies Between Human and Ecological Elements of Corporate Sustainability

• Tamsin Angus-Leppan, Suzanne Benn and Louise Young. 2010

• Qualitative study of the human and ecological elements of sustainability that exist in the minds of stakeholders. Argues that a sensemaking approach allows these to be better understood and compared.

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Examples of Sustainability Research

• The Financial Performance of Ethical Investment Trusts: An Australian Perspective.

• Lorne Cummings. 2000

• This study examines whether differences in financial performance exist for investment trusts which base their portfolio selection primarily on an ethical screen, compared to indexes which incorporate a broader spectrum of investments.

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Examples of Sustainability Research

• An exploratory study of community perspectives in the Murray Darling Basin

• Mary Bonich, Christine Harley, Julia Irwin, Louise Metcalf

• Explores the various community perspectives of the issues and conflict surrounding a purportedly successful community sustainability initiative in the Murray Darling Basin. We aim to determine what leadership and other mechanisms work effectively to bring about change within the community.

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• Sustainability Juggling, Moral Distancing, Ecological Repair

• Robert Perey , Suzanne Benn

• Sustainability Juggling (individuals try to balance and trade-off three different mental models), Moral Distancing (boundaries of inclusion), Ecological Repair (a new narrative)

Examples of Sustainability Research

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What are Robert and I currently devising answers for?• How do we help communities take charge of,

and create their own sustainability?

• How do we engage leaders in exploring the innovative potential of sustainability?

• How do we and our stakeholders value the environment and society? And if we need to change this, how do we go about it?

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Where to now?

• What can you do as a group?

• What can you do as individuals?

• What is possible for you?